Why Credit Card Companies Won’t Let Your Customers Buy CBD

Accepting credit cards for CBD? Online CBD sellers know exactly how hard it is to accept credit card payments. And that’s a problem.

When customers visit online stores, they want to add their credit card details to the payment info section and place an order. Most online shoppers, the younger millennials and Gen Z, prefer adding their details for quick and easy credit card payment processing. People aren’t interested to know how their payment is processed until something goes wrong.

Have you ever received the message “Your bank has declined the online CBD purchase”? This has become a pretty common case in most of the countries, even the regions where CBD is not banned. Banks do not want to support any CBD-related transactions, and most won’t credit cards for CBD purchases because it’s too risky. We see cannabinoids and hemp products all over the internet. But the less-known fact is the banks do not allow credit card transactions for CBD purchases. Some of the top credit card companies i.e., Mastercard, American Express, PayPal, Visa, Stripe, Shopify, and Stripe are no longer accepting any transactions from CBD retailers.

If you want to purchase CBD online or through a retailer’s store, you must make an alternative payment option ready as no one will accept the credit cards.

Why Exactly are the Payment Services Refusing to Accept CBD Transactions?

The CBD industry accounted for $2 billion in 2018¹. The research suggests this sector will reach up to $16 billion by the end of 2025. Considering the whopping figure, any merchant would want to take advantage of this profitable market. So, the question is: why have some banks and ISOs no longer accept credit cards for CBD? Let’s dig deeper.

CBD and THC are considered two of the most important ingredients of Cannabinoids family that happen to solve a wide range of health issues. If you see it from a legal point of view, hemp is obtained from cannabis plants and contains a THC level which falls below 0.3%. Any ingredient and product derived from the cannabis plant that contains a THC level higher than 0.3% are considered illegal. Some people believe that it is because of the risk associated with some cannabis content that the banks have refused to process any transaction that involves CBD.

What if Customers Purchase CBD because of Illness or Doctor’s Prescription?

While it may not be problematic to the casual weed consumers, this latest banking act which bans CBD purchases can have a negative impact on the health of users that purchase CBD content to treat certain medical conditions. When users are unable to process their payment for CBD purchases through credit cards, they not only get frustrated but helpless.

Source: 

[1]: Rolling Stones – Exclusive: New Report Predicts CBD Market Will Hit $22 Billion by 2022

Mitch Fardell( Merchant Account Specialist )

Mitchell Fardell is a highly experienced payment processor who has worked for First Card Payments since 2019. In that time, he has worked on large accounts, small accounts, and everything in between.